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Dear Eric: So many tasty-sounding barbecue recipes lately, but we cannot barbecue! That is, we now live in an apartment and barbecuing is not allowed on the balcony. Can you tell us if there’s an indoor device that gives similar results, but won’t set off the smoke alarm?

-- Ernie and Vilma Jarman

Dear Ernie and Vilma: Yours in one of several similar queries -- see next question below -- I’ve had from readers in a similar situation.

Is there a device that will mimic the taste of something cooked over flickering flames? No, but there are some that will give foods a somewhat similar taste.

One is a stovetop grill pan. When properly heated, it can give foods nice grill marks and a smoky taste. As Ernie and Vilma probably already know, the problem with them is that any fat falling to the bottom of the pan will start to smoke, and unless you have a supersonic kitchen fan, can set off your smoke alarm.

Luckily, kitchen equipment manufacturers now make what’s called a smokeless indoor grill. This electric appliance has a drip pan under the grilling surface where fat or other substances dripping from the food will collect and not burn and smoke.

I can barbecue, so I don’t own one of those grills and can’t recommend a model. However, thanks to the Internet, you can read reviews on the numerous smokeless indoor grills available.

For example, if you go consumersearch.com, which does reviews of various products, and enter smokeless indoor grill into the search, you’ll see their top picks. If you go to amazon.com and enter smokeless indoor grill into the search you’ll see a number listed and be able to read customer reviews.

The chicken kebab recipe below could be cooked on a smokeless indoor grill.

If you don’t want to invest in one, you can also create a barbecue taste by cooking foods in the oven adorned with the spices and sauces you might rub and slather on barbecued food. This rib recipe uses that technique.

Baked Barbecue-style Ribs

I call this barbecue-style because the ribs are cooked in the oven and spiced and sauced with items you would flavour them with if cooked on the barbecue.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: About 2 hours, 5 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

2 full racks pork back ribs, each cut into 2-rib pieces

1 Tbsp store-bought seasoning salt, Cajun spice or barbecue spice

1 1/2 cups beer or apple juice

- barbecue sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 325°F. Set the ribs meaty side up in a single layer in shallow-sided roasting pan. Sprinkle with seasoning salt, Cajun spice or barbecue spice. Pour in the beer or juice. Cover and bake ribs in the middle of the oven 1 hour, 45 minutes to 2 hours, or until quite tender. Uncover ribs and brush with barbecue sauce, to taste. Turn oven to broil and broil ribs until richly coloured, about 5 minutes or so. Watch ribs when they broil to ensure they don’t scorch. Plate ribs and serve.

Dear Eric: I recently visited Toronto and found that people (sensibly) used the barbecue during the heat wave. I tasted very flavourful shish kebabs and was especially keen to learn about them. Chicken breasts had been cut into large chunks and marinated in an equal mix of olive oil and lemon juice with sea salt and pepper to taste. The question is, how can I prepare this chicken, since I do not have a barbecue? Can I bake it in the oven? What about using the fillets only?

-- Hildegard Chamberlain

Dear Hildegard: As you know, a shish kebab is a dish consisting of marinated meat threaded on a skewer and grilled. In this case, you were looking for one made with chicken breast and I created a recipe for you.

As noted in the answer to the question above, you could use an indoor grill to cook the chicken. As noted in the recipe below, you could also bake or broil the chicken. If choosing the latter two options, you won’t have that same smoky grilled taste, but the chicken will still be delicious. If you choose to broil, be warned that the oven may become smoky as the chicken cooks.

Chicken breast fillets are tender strips of meat pulled from the middle of the breast that are sold separately. You could use them in the recipe, but I prefer to use whole, skinless, boneless breasts, as it’s easier to get evenly sized pieces of chicken to skewer.

My recipe yields four skewers each with about six ounces of chicken. If you need more or fewer servings, the recipe could be expand or halved.

To make chicken souvlaki, after cooking, slide the meat off the skewer and onto warm pita bread. Accent the chicken with such things as tzatziki sauce, pitted olives, shredded lettuce and chopped onion and tomato.

Chicken Shish Kebabs

Tender, flavourful, skewered chicken that could be grilled, baked or broiled.

Combine all ingredients, except chicken and salt, in a bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover, refrigerate and marinate chicken 4 to 8 hours (or even overnight), depending on how much time you have.

Divide and thread chicken onto 4 long metal skewers. Season the kebabs with salt. Cook chicken by one of these methods:

Grilled: Preheat barbecue or non-stick indoor grill to medium-high. When hot, grill kebabs 10 to 12 minutes, turning occasionally, or until cooked through. (When cooked, the chicken will feel firm, but still have a little give. If it’s very or somewhat soft, the chicken is not cooked. If it’s very firm, it’s overcooked.)

Baked: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Set kebabs, spacing them at least 2 inches apart, on a non-stick baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, and then baste each kebab with the pan juices. Bake the kebabs another 5 minutes, or until cooked through.

Broiled: Set an oven rack 6 inches beneath the broiler. Preheat the broiler to high. Set kebabs, spacing them at least 2 inches apart, on a non-stick baking sheet. Broil the chicken 5 minutes. Carefully open the oven, remove the pan and turn each kebab over. Return pan to the oven and broil chicken 3 to 5 minutes on the other side, or until cooked through.

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